World Employment and Social Outlook: Trends 2025 (ILO)

Summary

• Global unemployment held steady at 5 per cent in 2024, while youth unemployment stood at around 12.6 per cent.p.3
• Economic growth stood at 3.2 per cent in 2024, down from 3.3 and 3.6 per cent in 2023 and 2022.p.3
• The global jobs gap stood at around 402.4 million in 2024, including about 186 million unemployed and 137 million in the potential labour force.p.5
• Extreme working poverty affects 240 million workers, or 7 per cent of the global workforce.p.5
• Renewable energy jobs increased to 16.2 million, more than half of all jobs in the energy and utilities sector.p.6

Key insights

1. Around 79 million people who would like to work are hindered by obligations such as care.p.5
2. More than half of the global workforce are not adequately covered by social security arrangements, legal protection or workplace safety measures.p.5
3. Employment growth remained too weak to have a significant impact on persistent decent work deficits.p.3
4. Real wage growth has picked up only in a few advanced economies with particularly strong labour demand.p.4
5. Almost half of new green job opportunities have been in Eastern Asia.p.6
6. Low-income countries appear particularly vulnerable, as progress in decent work creation has been slowest there.p.3